Cedar Shingle Motorhome Accent Wall
05 May
The weather is finally nice enough to start working on Bertha, my vintage 1974 Shasta motorhome, again!
We cut a small shingle to the size we wanted and used it to measure each row so we wouldn't end up with wonky, crooked lines.
First, we used it to tell how high to place each shingle in the row...
And then we used it to tell how high to place the nails so they would be covered by the next row of shingles.
We just continued working our way up the wall, staggering seams and varying shingle sizes.
Once we got up to the top we had to notch the shingles around the light.
It's just as I imagined!
My dad says "it's cuter than a bug's ear!"
Today we took off the tarps that protected her all winter and started working on a little accent wall that I've been planning for her!
Cedar Shingle Motorhome Accent Wall
I went through several iterations of what kind of accent wall I wanted in Bertha. I had a chalkboard wall in my vintage trailer so I didn't want to do that again. I wanted something a little bit rustic and also lightweight so it wouldn't add any more weight.
At first, I was thinking of a rustic ship lap wall but that seems kind of overdone... you see them everywhere. I wanted something more unique!
We had a cedar shingle wall in our dining room when I was young so I knew they looked cool... then I discovered that my parent's neighbors were moving away and guess what they had in their garage?!
CEDAR SHINGLES!! 😀 Vintage ones at that!!
We put the bug in their ear when they were packing up that if they didn't want them we did! I was so excited when they gave them to us!
In order to put them up securely, I wanted to use my brad nail gun but first, we had to beef up the wall so the nails wouldn't go completely through.
Luckily the other side of this wall is the inside of the closet so my dad cut a piece of scrap wood to fit and we screwed it in place. Now we were ready to start putting the shingles up!
We thought it would be best to pick out the shingles and lay it out first so we drew the measurements on the driveway with chalk and I laid out my design.
With cedar shingle walls you want to make sure to stagger the seams and vary the sizes of the shingles in each row... some rows will have a big wide shingle and a couple of small ones, others will have a few small shingles and a couple of medium size shingles.
Once the design was laid out we started putting up the wall.
Cedar shingles have a fat end (about 1/4" thick) and then gradually get skinnier until they are almost paper thin at the other end. You will start at the bottom of the wall and the fat side of the shingle will point down.
We used construction adhesive for the first row but then decided that we should just use nails in case I ever decide I want to remove it.
We cut a small shingle to the size we wanted and used it to measure each row so we wouldn't end up with wonky, crooked lines.
First, we used it to tell how high to place each shingle in the row...
And then we used it to tell how high to place the nails so they would be covered by the next row of shingles.
We just continued working our way up the wall, staggering seams and varying shingle sizes.
For the most part, they all fit nicely, every now and then we would have to trim one a little bit.
Cheeeesssseeee!! 😁
Every now and then I would peek through from the cab to make sure everything looked ok. It's very important to step back and check once in awhle!
Once we got up to the top we had to notch the shingles around the light.
My dad uses my grandpa's old table saw from the 1950's to cut wood for all our projects! One day I hope it will be mine!
I made sure to put the best side of the shingles out and I picked a few with dark lines and swirls for added interest.
I'm so happy with how this little project turned out!
My dad says "it's cuter than a bug's ear!"
PIN ME!
Posted by: Tania | Little Vintage Cottage
at 05 May
Tag:
home decor
